Monthly Archives: June 2015

When Dinos Christofides walked out of the FBME branch on Friday 15 May 2015 he made it clear to those to whom he spoke that he was far from pleased at the way he had been treated by the Central Bank of Cyprus. Immediately prior to his departure – and before the owners, directors or management of the Bank had been informed that he was going – it seems he had three overwhelming priorities.

Reports in newspapers in Cyprus have identified the link between rising prices in the consumer market and the resumption of monopolistic practices by JCC Payment Systems. The stories have appeared in the Politis’ 17 June edition and in Simerini on 18 June.

Clearly, the various investigations into the behaviour of the Governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus and her minions have caused the CBC to appear rudderless (as we noted before) and also de-masted, holed and run aground. This is not, it goes without saying, a good place for such an august and potentially influential governmental institution to be in.

Eleven months after the CBC’s unprecedented decision to take over FBME’s operations in Cyprus, public concern escalates with local media reflecting this sentiment. The island’s Cyprus Weekly, English newspaper published the following article.

“When the Central Bank of Cyprus took the unprecedented decision in July 2014 to first suspend, and then attempt to sell, the operations of FBME Bank, the Cyprus branch of the Tanzania-based bank, following as yet unproven allegations concerning money laundering, it could not have foreseen the potential risks associated.

A letter from a Limassol law firm sent to FBME staff on behalf of the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC) and its Administrator reminds employees of their obligation not to engage in the disclosure of information to the media and in particular to one website (whichever that may be). It actually describes such disclosures as ‘leaks’, a description redolent of Watergate or the fight against totalitarian dictatorship.

As tensions rise again around the performance of senior officials of the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC), it has been recommended once more that the institution should develop ‘Fit and Proper’ testing for its own directors and management.